Public Art: Community Murals & Installations
CMI Morganton muralist cohort, coFacilitators and crew at Industrial Commons.
Title: "Honoring the Workers Who Help Our Community Thrive"
Building Mural:
This "essential workers" themed community engaged mural was one of three created of the community, with the community, and for the community in Burke County, Morganton, NC.
Medium:
Exterior latex paint on polytab, installed on brick building.
Dimensions:
20’h * 50’w = 1000 sf (49 5'w x 5'h polytab panels).
Installation Location/s:
Industrial Commons, North Carolina, July 2023
Concept
From March through July 2023, I was one of twelve muralists selected for a cohort to be specially trained by the Community Murals Institute in Morganton, NC. An initiative that was originally cultivated by TOSS studio a program of Industrial Commons, who have invested over $100,000 in the local arts with these community murals backed by the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Huffman Cornwell Foundation, and others.
In the five month training by Community Murals Institute (CMI Morganton) – coFacilitated by Good Space Murals & Common Wealth Murals – emerging artists from South and North Carolina were taught the art of community-engaged polytab murals from in-person information sessions to installation, and everything in between.
The training included priming, projecting, tracing, and numbering the (three) 1000' square foot murals onto approximately one-hundred and fifty 5' x 5' sections of polytab for use during two community paint parties. Following the paint parties myself and the others in the cohort of muralists took the panels back to Toss and their home studios to finish.
In July, we returned to Morganton with completed panels and were then trained in the polytab installation techniques including installation, overpainting, and sealing.